China, a huge market with a population of 1.4 billion, undoubtedly provides unprecedented development opportunities for global food companies. In the face of this blue ocean full of potential, are you planning to introduce your high-quality food products to China, while confused by the complex and strict management requirements of imported food from China? As a professional organization deeply engaged in the field of China's import and export food compliance consulting, Foodmate will continue to launch a series of articles on "Exporting Food to China" to help overseas food enterprises exporting food to China successfully pass the various conformity assessments of China Customs.

The "Measures for the Administration of import and Export Food Safety of the People's Republic of China" (Order No. 249 of the General Administration of Customs of China) clearly stipulates that imported food shall comply with Chinese laws and regulations and national food safety standards, and if there are special requirements in international treaties and agreements concluded or acceded to by China, they shall also comply with the requirements of international treaties and agreements.

In order to verify the conformity of imported food, China Customs implements conformity assessment for imported food, and the conformity assessment activities for imported food include: assessment and review of the food safety management system of overseas countries (regions) exporting food to China, registration of overseas food manufacturers, filing and conformity assurance of importers and exporters, quarantine approval of imported animals and plants, inspection of accompanying certificates of conformity, document review, on-site inspection, supervision and sampling, inspection of import and sales records, and a combination of the above.

Judging from the above-mentioned conformity assessment activities, if your food wants to successfully pass the conformity assessment of China Customs, before exporting food to China, you should confirm whether China has implemented national access to your country's food, you should also confirm that the manufacturer of the food has been registered with China Customs, and if you are an overseas exporter of the food, your relevant information should be filed with the General Administration of Customs of China.

When officially exporting food to China, your importer or agent in China should declare the goods to the local customs and accept the customs inspection and quarantine.

The following materials need to be submitted when declaring the goods:

(1) Commercial documents such as contracts, invoices, transport documents, and packing lists;

(2) Licenses and accompanying documents required for import;

(3) Other import documents prescribed by the General Administration of Customs of China.

Thereinto

The licenses required for import include quarantine licenses for imported animals and plants, registration of overseas food manufacturers, registration and filing of special foods, safety certificates for agricultural genetically modified organisms, tax registration certificates, etc.;

The accompanying documents required for import include the inspection and quarantine certificate of imported goods, the sample and translation of the label of the imported food (the sample and translation of the label of the imported food shall be provided for the first import of pre-packaged food), the official quarantine certificate of the exporting country or region (the food of animal and plant origin), the corresponding test report (if there are specific values on the label, such as the test report of vegetable oil and the test report of dairy products), the official health certificate (such as imported dairy products, etc.), the certificate of origin, etc.

In accordance with the principle of risk management, China Customs adopts some or all of the inspection and quarantine measures for imported food accompanied by the inspection of conformity certificates, document review, on-site inspection, supervision and sampling, and implements conformity assessment.

If the imported food meets the requirements of the conformity assessment, the China Customs shall issue the Certificate of Inspection and Quarantine of imported Goods, complete the declaration procedures for the goods, and enter the stage of food safety supervision in China.

The general process of exporting food products to China is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 The general process of exporting food products to China

In the near future, we will continue to bring you a series of articles on "Exporting Food to China", including national access, filing of overseas food exporters, registration of overseas food production enterprises, customs clearance requirements, etc., so stay tuned.